Skopje, 30 June 2022 (MIA) – Laying the foundation for the preparation of an integrated national strategy for food provision in North Macedonia will be the focus of a new project of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), promoted Thursday in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy, in partnership with the Network for Rural Development of North Macedonia. In his welcoming address, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy, Ljupcho Nikolovski, emphasized that in this time of global changes, it is essential to ensure access to a safe, stable and affordable source of food for all, and that the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy will provide full support in the process of developing the National Strategy for Food Provision. Minister Nikolovski followed up on last week's ministerial conference in Berlin, where a message was sent that farmers, but also all citizens, should adapt to the new changes and unite in finding new opportunities to overcome the food crisis more easily. “We as a ministry and the Government, while facing the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine for domestic food provision, recognized the importance of a National Strategy for Food Provision, as a roadmap for determining national priorities for improving domestic agricultural production, and with that the availability of food, and the opportunity for everyone to provide themselves with a healthy diet. Such a strategy can help us make our food system more durable and resistant to future crises like this, which can threaten the national food supply,” said Minister Nikolovski. The initiative to draft such a document began a year ago, before the days of the current food crisis, and today we already have the official start of a project with clearly defined goals and results that we need to achieve. In general, the project aims to solve the identified lack of a strategic framework for food provision in North Macedonia by supporting the Government to prepare the relevant documents, studies and analyses needed for the development of the first National Strategy for food provision in the country. The project is part of FAO's Regional Initiative to Transform Food Systems and Facilitate Market Access and Integration, and is expected to be completed by mid-2023. “The goal of this Strategy is to increase agricultural production so that we can satisfy domestic needs with lower production costs. Another goal of ours is to raise the quality of Macedonian products, enabling recognition and competitiveness of our products, creating conditions for sustainable production that takes care of the environment, meeting the needs of citizens in conditions of any crisis and promoting healthy habits in nutrition with special emphasis on women and young people,” Minister Nikolovski emphasized. Food supply systems, both domestic and international, are disrupted and continue to affect global grain, fertilizer and energy prices. International food prices are steadily rising, adding to the already heavy burden on global food provision. In addition, the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme climate events continue to be a major constraint on supply systems and a problem in food provision. In close cooperation with the Network for Rural Development of North Macedonia, through a consultative and participatory process, FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management will work on collecting the necessary national data on food provision and healthy nutrition, as well as on a detailed analysis of the relevant national policies, which will serve as a basis for the draft of the future Food Provision Strategy. In addition, an institutional survey will be conducted to prepare a proposal for the establishment of a permanent inter-institutional national coordination mechanism as the main state body that will include all relevant ministries and state agencies that will be responsible for the strategic oversight of the implementation of the national strategy, laws, policies and programs related to food provision. dk/ba/